Faculty Bibliography

Three hundred and twenty isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were typed by DNA sequence analysis of the X region of the protein A gene (spa). spa typing was compared to both phenotypic and molecular techniques for the ability to differentiate and categorize S. aureus strains into groups that correlate with epidemiological information. Two previously characterized study populations were examined. A collection of 59 isolates (F. C. Tenover, R. Arbeit, G. Archer, J. Biddle, S. Byrne, R. Goering, G. Hancock, G. A. Hebert, B. Hill, R. Hollis, W. R. Jarvis, B. Kreiswirth, W. Eisner, J. Maslow, L. K. McDougal, J. M. Miller, M. Mulligan, and M. A. Pfaller, J. Clin. Microbiol. 32:407-415, 1994) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was used to test for the ability to discriminate outbreak from epidemiologically unrelated strains. A separate collection of 261 isolates form a multicenter study (R. B. Roberts, A. de Lencastre, W. Eisner, E. P. Severina, B. Shopsin, B. N. Kreiswirth, and A. Tomasz, J. Infect. Dis. 178:164-171, 1998) of methicillin-resistant S. aureus in New York City (NYC) was used to compare the ability of spa typing to group strains along clonal lines to that of the combination of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and Southern hybridization. In the 320 isolates studied, spa typing identified 24 distinct repeat types and 33 different strain types. spa typing distinguished 27 of 29 related strains and did not provide a unique fingerprint for 4 unrelated strains from the four outbreaks of the CDC collection. In the NYC collection, spa typing provided a clonal assignment for 185 of 195 strains within the five major groups previously described. spa sequencing appears to be a highly effective rapid typing tool for S. aureus that, despite some expense of specificity, has significant advantages in terms of speed, ease of use, ease of interpretation, and standardization among laboratories

Many factors can cause a lack of energy, but people who are willing to confront these obstacles often end up feeling renewed and revitalized. Tips for increasing one's energy level are presented and include get enough sleep, keep stress under control, remain active and eat right

In a rare and embarrassing reversal, a Federal health advisory panel yesterday withdrew its recommendation that all infants be immunized against the virus that causes a severe form of diarrhea after the vaccine was linked to a painful and potentially fatal bowel obstruction. The action comes a year after the Government licensed the rotavirus vaccine, and three months after it abruptly suspended its use because of reports that some babies who took it were coming down with the bowel condition. A week ago the manufacturer, American Home Products of Madison, N.J., withdrew the vaccine from the market. Despite the suspension in July, the advisory panel's formal position until yesterday had been that all infants in the United States should receive three doses of the vaccine, at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. Rotashield is the world's first and only licensed vaccine against rotavirus, though it is not being used in other countries

In a rare and embarrassing reversal, a federal health advisory panelyesterday withdrew its recommendation that all infants be immunized againstthe virus that causes a severe form of diarrhea after the vaccine was linkedto a painful and potentially fatal bowel obstruction. Dr. John Livengood, an official with the disease centers' immunizationprogram, said in an interview that the panel's vote reflected a stepped-upreview of scientific evidence 'from a variety of sources, all of which showeda strong causal association' between the rotavirus vaccine and the bowelcondition, intussusception

An atlas of the world is offered. Seven news events are included

American Home Products, the manufacturer of the only licensed vaccine to prevent the most common cause of severe diarrhea among infants and children, announced today that it was withdrawing the vaccine from the market because of concerns that it could cause a painful and potentially fatal bowel obstruction. The diarrhea is caused by the rotavirus, and last year the Government recommended that every infant in the United States get the protective vaccine. One million children swallowed three doses of the vaccine, Rotashield, at 2, 4 and 6 months of age, the company said. But in July the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a Federal agency based here, said no one should get the vaccine because a program that monitors side effects suggested a link between the vaccine and the bowel condition, called intussusception

American Home Products, the manufacturer of the only licensed vaccine to prevent the most common cause of severe diarrhea among infants and children, announced Friday that it was withdrawing the vaccine from the market because of concerns that it could cause a painful, potentially fatal bowel obstruction. The diarrhea is caused by the rotavirus, and last year the government recommended that every infant in the United States get the protective vaccine. One million children swallowed three doses of the vaccine, RotaShield, at 2, 4 and 6 months of age, the company said. Friday, prompted by more than 100 reports of intussusception to the agency - more than half of them within a week of vaccination - American Home Products has asked doctors and health workers to return all unused vaccine immediately. It said it would wait for completed studies to determine whether withdrawal of the vaccine would be permanent

There are a billion protein molecules in an average human cell. Cells are constantly dividing or being repaired to replace those damaged or lost to everyday wear and tear. The mystery that Dr. Blobel (pronounced BLO-bul) helped solve was learning how the cells regulate internal traffic so the protein molecules ''go to the right address,'' he said in an interview yesterday in his fifth floor office at Rockefeller University. Dr. Richard Klausner, the head of the National Cancer Institute, said many advances in recent decades, including his own research, were in some way derived from Dr. Blobel's findings. ''Gunter's work in many ways initiated the whole modern era of what we call molecular cell biology,'' Dr. Klausner said in an interview. ''It began to merge the observational approaches of cell biology, looking, describing structure,'' he said, and so scientists could ''figure out how molecular information underlies the structure and functioning of the cell.'' Dr. Blobel, who recalled witnessing the bombing of Dresden as a child, said he was donating most of the $960,000 in prize money to the Friends of Dresden, an independent American group that supports the reconstruction, restoration and preservation of Dresden's artistic and architectural legacy. The group is helping rebuild the Frauenkirche, a bell-shaped church that was a fixture in prewar Dresden. Dr. Blobel, who is not Jewish, said he is also donating part of the award to the reconstruction of a synagogue in Dresden